[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66317-66321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19193]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview 
Information; Teacher Incentive Fund; Notice Inviting Applications for 
New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.374A.

DATES: Applications Available: November 14, 2006.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: December 29, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 12, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 13, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs), including 
charter schools that are LEAs in their State; State educational 
agencies (SEAs); or partnerships of (a) an LEA, an SEA, or both, and 
(b) at least one non-profit organization.
    Estimated Available Funds: $43,000,000.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a 
sufficient number of high-quality applications, we may make additional 
awards, using FY 2007 funds, from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 
applications from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000--$10,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $3,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10--20.


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Description of Program: This competition is a reopening of a 
competition run by the Department of Education for FY 2006 Teacher 
Incentive Program funds. Sixteen awards were made on November 1, 2006. 
At that time, applicants who were not awarded funding were notified. We 
encourage applicants who applied previously for this competition and 
did not receive funding to revise their applications and to reapply. 
All other eligible applicants are also encouraged to apply.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Teacher Incentive Fund, 
authorized as part of the FY 2006 Department of Education 
Appropriations Act, Public Law 109-149, is to support programs that 
develop and implement performance-based teacher and principal 
compensation systems in high-need schools.
    The specific goals of the Teacher Incentive Fund include: Improving 
student achievement by increasing teacher and principal effectiveness; 
reforming teacher and principal compensation systems so that teachers 
and principals are rewarded for increases in student achievement; 
increasing the number of effective teachers teaching poor, minority, 
and disadvantaged students in hard-to-staff subjects; and creating 
sustainable performance-based compensation systems.
    Priorities: We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2006 
grant competition (including any awards we make, using FY 2007 funds, 
from the list of unfunded applications from this competition), in 
accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions 
Act.
    Absolute Priority: For the FY 2006 grant competition (including any 
awards we may make, using FY 2007 funds, from the list of unfunded 
applications from this competition), this priority is an absolute 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that 
meet this priority.
    Consistent with the program purpose, the grantee must establish a 
system that provides teachers and principals, or principals only, 
serving in high-need schools with differentiated levels of compensation 
based primarily on student achievement gains at the school

[[Page 66318]]

and classroom levels. This performance-based compensation system must 
also (a) consider classroom evaluations conducted multiple times during 
each school year and (b) provide educators with incentives to take on 
additional responsibilities and leadership roles.
    Competitive Preference Priorities: For the FY 2006 grant 
competition (including any awards we make, using FY 2007 funds, from 
the list of unfunded applications from this competition), these 
priorities are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to an additional 5 points to an 
application, depending on the extent to which the application meets the 
priority.
    These priorities are:
    Competitive Preference Priority 1: We will award up to an 
additional 5 points depending on the extent to which the applicant 
documents or provides a plan to establish ongoing support for and 
commitment to the performance-based compensation system from a 
significant proportion of the teachers, the principal, and the 
community, including the applicable governing authority or LEA, for 
each participating high-need school.
    Competitive Preference Priority 2: We will award up to an 
additional 5 points depending on the extent to which the applicant will 
provide differentiated levels of compensation, which may include 
incentives, to recruit or retain effective teachers and principals (as 
measured by student achievement gains) in high-need urban and rural 
schools, and/or in hard-to-staff subject areas such as mathematics and 
science.
    Definitions: The following definitions apply:
    A high-need school means a school with more than 30 percent of its 
enrollment from low-income families, based on eligibility for free and 
reduced price lunch subsidies or other poverty measures that the State 
permits the LEAs to use. A middle or high school may be determined to 
meet this definition on the basis of poverty data from feeder 
elementary schools.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested parties 
the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities, definitions, cost-
sharing requirements, selection criteria, and performance measures. 
Section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1232(d)(1)), however, allows the Secretary to exempt from rulemaking 
requirements regulations governing the first grant competition under a 
new or substantially revised program authority. This is the first grant 
competition for this program authorized as part of the FY 2006 
Department of Education Appropriations Act, Public Law 109-149, and 
therefore these rules qualify for this exemption. To ensure timely 
grant awards, the Secretary has decided, under section 437(d)(1), to 
forego public comment on the priorities, definitions, cost-sharing 
requirements, selection criteria, and performance measures. These 
priorities, definitions, cost-sharing requirements, selection criteria, 
and performance measures will apply to the FY 2006 grant competition 
(including any awards we make, using FY 2007 funds, from the list of 
unfunded applications from this competition).

    Program Authority: Pub. L. No. 109-149, 119 Stat. 2864-65.

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grant.
    Estimated Available Funds: $43,000,000.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a 
sufficient number of high-quality applications, we may make additional 
awards, using FY 2007 funds, from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 
applications from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$10,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $3,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10-20.


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools that are 
LEAs in their State; SEAs; or partnerships of (a) an LEA, an SEA, or 
both, and (b) at least one non-profit organization.
    2. Cost-Sharing: The grantee must ensure that, in each applicable 
budget year, an increasing share of funds from sources other than this 
grant will be used to pay for earned differential compensation costs as 
they are phased in during the performance period. In the final year of 
the performance period, the grantee must ensure that at least 75 
percent of the differentiated compensation costs are not paid from this 
grant.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll 
free): 1-877-433-7827. Fax: (301) 470-1244. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 
1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.374A.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting one of the individuals 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII. of this 
notice.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
    Notice of Intent to Apply: We will be able to develop a more 
efficient process for reviewing grant applications if we have a better 
understanding of the number of entities that intend to apply for 
funding.
    Therefore, we strongly encourage each potential applicant to send a 
notification of its intent to apply for funding to the following e-mail 
address: [email protected]. The notification of intent to apply for funding is 
optional and should not include information regarding the proposed 
application.
    Page Limit: Applicants are strongly encouraged to limit their 
application to 40 pages.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: November 14, 2006.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: December 29, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 12, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.

[[Page 66319]]

    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
application requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 13, 2007.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under 
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this 
competition.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify 
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instructions in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under this competition-CFDA Number 84.374A 
must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site at: 
http://www.grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download 
a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload 
and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a 
grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the TIF program 
at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable 
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include 
the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application 
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we 
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the 
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.Grants.gov/GetStarted). These steps include (1) registering 
your organization, (2) registering yourself as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR 
by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the 
Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information typically included on the Application for Federal 
Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction 
Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. You 
must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a 
.DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. 
If you upload a file type other than the three file types specified 
above or submit a password protected file, we will not review that 
material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying 
number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
With the Grants.gov System: If you are prevented from electronically 
submitting your application on the application deadline date because of 
technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an 
extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business 
day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by 
hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the 
mailing instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you 
submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this 
notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, 
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). We 
will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.


    Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the 
unavailability of or

[[Page 66320]]

technical problems with the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you 
an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your 
application to Grants.gov before the deadline date and time or if 
the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov 
system.


    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: April Lee, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W229, 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Fax: (202) 205-4921.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier), your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.374A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
    By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.374A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service,
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier, or
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark, or
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.374A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays.
    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail 
or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 4 of the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (ED 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if any--of the 
competition under which you are submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application 
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant 
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are 
as follows:
    (a) Need (5 points).
    The extent to which the applicant describes the scope and size of 
the project and the need for the project, including information on 
student academic achievement and the quality of the teachers and 
principals in the LEA(s) and high-need schools that will be served by 
the project.
    (b) Project Design (50 points).
    (1) The extent to which the performance-based compensation system 
will reward teachers and principals who raise student academic 
achievement.
    (2) The extent to which the applicant describes the performance-
based teacher and principal compensation system that the applicant 
proposes to develop, implement, or expand, including the extent to 
which the applicant will build the capacity of teachers and principals 
through activities such as professional development to raise student 
achievement and to provide students with greater access to rigorous 
coursework.
    (3) The extent to which the applicant's proposed project includes 
valid and reliable measures of student achievement--including statewide 
assessment scores as appropriate for this purpose--as the primary 
indicator of teacher and principal effectiveness in the proposed 
performance-based compensation system.
    (4) The extent to which the applicant proposes to develop and 
implement a fair, rigorous and objective process to evaluate teacher 
and principal performance multiple times throughout the school year.
    (c) Adequacy of Resources (20 points).
    (1) The extent to which the applicant provides a thorough 
explanation of how the applicant will use funds awarded under the grant 
together with the required matching funds to carry out the program 
purpose.
    (2) The extent to which the applicant provides a detailed plan, 
including documentation of resources, for sustaining its performance-
based compensation system after the grant period ends.
    (3) The extent to which the applicant includes a thorough 
description of its current data-management capacity and proposed areas 
of data management development in order to implement a performance-
based compensation system in which differentiated

[[Page 66321]]

compensation is based primarily on student academic achievement.
    (d) Quality of the Management Plan and Key Personnel (15 points).
    (1) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timelines, milestones, and processes for 
continuous improvement to accomplish project tasks.
    (2) The qualifications, including experience, education, and 
training of proposed key personnel.
    (e) Evaluation (10 points).
    (1) The extent to which the applicant's evaluation plan includes 
the use of objective measures that are clearly related to the goals of 
the project to raise student achievement and increase teacher 
effectiveness, including the extent to which the evaluation will 
produce quantitative and qualitative data.
    (2) The extent to which the applicant includes adequate evaluation 
procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous improvement in the 
operation of the proposed project.
    (3) The extent to which the applicant commits to participating in a 
rigorous national evaluation that will provide a common design 
methodology, data collection instruments, and performance measures for 
all grantees funded under this competition.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of the project period, recipients must 
submit a final performance report, including financial information, as 
directed by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must 
submit an annual performance report that provides the most current 
performance and financial expenditure information as specified by the 
Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: Pursuant to the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the Department has established the following 
performance measures that it will use to evaluate the overall 
effectiveness of the grantee's project, as well as the TIF program as a 
whole:
    (1) Changes in LEA personnel deployment practices, as measured by 
changes over time in the percentage of teachers and principals in high-
need schools who have a record of effectiveness; and
    (2) Changes in teacher and principal compensation systems in 
participating LEAs, as measured by the percentage of a district's 
personnel budget that is used for performance-related payments to 
effective (as measured by student achievement gains) teachers and 
principals.
    All grantees will be expected to submit an annual performance 
report documenting their success in addressing these performance 
measures. The Department will use the applicant's performance data for 
program management and administration, in such areas as determining new 
and continuation funding and planning technical assistance.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: April Lee, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W229, Washington, DC 20202-
6200. Telephone number: (202) 205-5224 or by e-mail: [email protected] or by 
Internet at the following Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/index.html.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the individuals listed in this section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: November 8, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E6-19193 Filed 11-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P